MOORPARK : City Seeks Rejection of Quarry Expansion

The Moorpark City Council voted to ask the county not to approve a major expansion of a gravel quarry three miles north of the city.

At the same time, however, council members expressed concern that their recommendation might inadvertently help to prolong the time the quarry operates without a permit.

Blue Star Ready Mix, 9035 Happy Camp Road, has been operating without a permit since 1986, county officials said. The issuing of a new permit has been contingent on approval of the company’s expansion plans, Ventura County project planner Janna Minsk said.

The company wants to expand its gravel quarry by 249 acres. It also proposes to add an asphalt-mixing plant to its concrete-mixing operations.

Moorpark will send a letter, signed by Mayor Paul Lawrason, to the county recommending that the expansion be limited to 22 acres. Because Blue Star is outside the city limits, the county will decide on the expansion proposal.

The city will also recommend that an environmental report on the project be revised. The report does not adequately reflect how the expansion would increase truck traffic or noise in Moorpark, city officials said.

Revising the report, however, would delay a decision on the expansion. The county’s Environmental Report Review Committee will consider the issue at a public hearing July 31.